Winter-related costs reach $500K in Montclair

By Andrew Segedin

Staff Writer |

The Montclair Times

Mother Nature has taken her toll on Montclair this winter - on roads, homes, municipal equipment and, most recently, its wallet.

Another kind of snowflake falls as C.J. Miller, the owner of Montclair Tree Experts, suspends himself above morning traffic to take down the holiday displays that have been hanging above Bloomfield Avenue this winter.

This winter has cost Montclair upwards of $500,000, Township Manager Marc Dashield revealed during Tuesday's Township Council meeting. That figure includes $160,000 in overtime costs, $200,000 for salt, and $123,000 for snow removal. When asked about the high cost of salt, Dashield confirmed that, with the exception of one emergency shipment, Montclair paid the market rate throughout the season.

Dashield added that the $500,000 figure will climb as it does not include the cost of repairing roads for winter-related potholes and there is no telling whether Mother Nature has let up.

By comparison, during an average winter Montclair typically spends $100,000 on employee overtime and $230,000 in various other costs, Dashield said. To help make up the difference, the council approved a resolution Tuesday appropriating just $100,000 of what was to be $322,000 to the township's "accumulated absence trust fund," an account geared toward preparing the township for retiring employees looking to take advantage of unused sick and vacation days, for which they receive payments.

The remaining $222,000 was placed in the township's snow removal trust fund.

Concerning the oft-discussed issue of road salt and its lack of availability, Dashield reported that Montclair received a 100-ton shipment on Tuesday, bring its total salt supply up to 200 tons. Montclair's salt shed holds roughly 1,000 tons, according to Dashield, who said it takes about 150 tons to go over the entire township once.

At Mayor Robert Jackson's request, Dashield said, he is looking at the possibility of the municipality constructing a salt dome, an additional storage space enabling the township to stockpile more salt. Still in preliminary stages, Dashield said that it is not yet clear how much such a structure would cost.

Third Ward Councilman Sean Spiller, also looking for Montclair to be salt independent, asked Dashield whether efforts have been made to look at alternatives to salting.

Dashield said that he has spoken to officials in Glen Ridge about a potential joint venture to apply brining, a liquid salt solution, that has been used to keep roads clear.

Managing costs

One of the keys to keeping control of costs during this harsh winter has been managing staff hours, according to Community Services Director Steve Wood.

During this winter's snowfalls, Wood said, he's made a concerted effort to deploy staff appropriately, not sending personnel out too late as to prevent poor road conditions and not too early as to curb overtime spending.

Overall, Community Services staff overtime expenses are less than other municipal departments, Wood said. Salt costs have also been down, according to Wood.

Additional expenses were racked up, he said, with special projects such as efforts to remove snow from areas surrounding schools and business districts.

Comparing this winter to years past, Wood said that the region did not have instances during the past two-plus months in which snow fell and then temperatures went up to melt the snow on the ground. This year, snow has remained on the ground since December.

A lack of road salt has contributed to the issue, Wood said. As the area has only encountered one major snowstorm this year, Wood said, some of the smaller storms Montclair has confronted in years past would have been handled in large part with the presence of salt on the ground. Instead, those modest snowfalls piled onto accumulations.

Winter-related costs reach $500K in Montclair

Another kind of snowflake falls as C.J. Miller, the owner of Montclair Tree Experts, suspends himself above morning traffic to take down the holiday displays that have been hanging above Bloomfield Avenue this winter.

By Andrew Segedin

Staff Writer |

The Montclair Times

Mother Nature has taken her toll on Montclair this winter - on roads, homes, municipal equipment and, most recently, its wallet.

This winter has cost Montclair upwards of $500,000, Township Manager Marc Dashield revealed during Tuesday's Township Council meeting. That figure includes $160,000 in overtime costs, $200,000 for salt, and $123,000 for snow removal. When asked about the high cost of salt, Dashield confirmed that, with the exception of one emergency shipment, Montclair paid the market rate throughout the season.

Dashield added that the $500,000 figure will climb as it does not include the cost of repairing roads for winter-related potholes and there is no telling whether Mother Nature has let up.

By comparison, during an average winter Montclair typically spends $100,000 on employee overtime and $230,000 in various other costs, Dashield said. To help make up the difference, the council approved a resolution Tuesday appropriating just $100,000 of what was to be $322,000 to the township's "accumulated absence trust fund," an account geared toward preparing the township for retiring employees looking to take advantage of unused sick and vacation days, for which they receive payments.

The remaining $222,000 was placed in the township's snow removal trust fund.

Concerning the oft-discussed issue of road salt and its lack of availability, Dashield reported that Montclair received a 100-ton shipment on Tuesday, bring its total salt supply up to 200 tons. Montclair's salt shed holds roughly 1,000 tons, according to Dashield, who said it takes about 150 tons to go over the entire township once.

At Mayor Robert Jackson's request, Dashield said, he is looking at the possibility of the municipality constructing a salt dome, an additional storage space enabling the township to stockpile more salt. Still in preliminary stages, Dashield said that it is not yet clear how much such a structure would cost.

Third Ward Councilman Sean Spiller, also looking for Montclair to be salt independent, asked Dashield whether efforts have been made to look at alternatives to salting.

Dashield said that he has spoken to officials in Glen Ridge about a potential joint venture to apply brining, a liquid salt solution, that has been used to keep roads clear.

Managing costs

One of the keys to keeping control of costs during this harsh winter has been managing staff hours, according to Community Services Director Steve Wood.

During this winter's snowfalls, Wood said, he's made a concerted effort to deploy staff appropriately, not sending personnel out too late as to prevent poor road conditions and not too early as to curb overtime spending.

Overall, Community Services staff overtime expenses are less than other municipal departments, Wood said. Salt costs have also been down, according to Wood.

Additional expenses were racked up, he said, with special projects such as efforts to remove snow from areas surrounding schools and business districts.

Comparing this winter to years past, Wood said that the region did not have instances during the past two-plus months in which snow fell and then temperatures went up to melt the snow on the ground. This year, snow has remained on the ground since December.

A lack of road salt has contributed to the issue, Wood said. As the area has only encountered one major snowstorm this year, Wood said, some of the smaller storms Montclair has confronted in years past would have been handled in large part with the presence of salt on the ground. Instead, those modest snowfalls piled onto accumulations.